Probably less useful than saving copper pennies. Commodity prices have crashed including nickle and copper. I know someone who has owned a scrap metal yard for a long long time. He told me the last couple years have been incredible. Metal buyers shipping to china were buying EVERYTHING they could get their hands on. He was shipping out five or six conex containers full every week for just one buyer. Last few months the metals demand has plummeted. That same buyer slowed down to two conexes a week, then one, then one every two weeks. Now maybe one a month.

All that said, you'd have to store a LOT of nickles then have to find someone who would WANT to buy or trade for those nickles. In the meantime your dollar value tied up in those nickles will become less and less valuable IMO.

I save nickles, I don't go out and buy them but I do go through the change and pick them out. Have an ammo can full and it does not take up a lot of room.Will it pan out and they will be worth a lot more one day? Maybe , maybe not. Small risk either way, and besides I will let the grandkids deal with them after I am gone. I wish I had done the same with dimes and quarters pre 1964.

I have been saving my copper pennies (1982 and before) for years because of a story I read in a book by Howard Ruff about a priest who replaced copper coins in the collection plate with paper money and during the hyperinflation years in Germany he lived quite well off of a bathtub full of these coins and you needed a wheelbarrow full of paper money just to buy bread. Nickels are the last of American "full bodied" coins, everything else being clad or in the case of pennies, copper washed. I suppose putting away some nickels would not be the worst of ideas, I just wouldn't invest too heavily in them. The advantage of silver and gold coins portability. If you plan on staying in place (as I do) having $20 or so in nickels probably couldn't hurt anything. If you plan on getting out of Dodge, it may be more wieght than practical.

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"Can our form of government, our system of justice, survive if one can be denied a FREEDOM because he might abuse it?" Harlan Carter

GroundPounder

I have read Rawles posts on saving nickles. Personally I would prefer to put that money towards gold and silver. Precious metals are very liquid and can easily be sold at the metals spot price. Because of the current laws on the books, a nickel can not legally be melted down so there is not going to be many people willing to pay the premium for the nickel content of the coins.

" also came across a 1oz. bar of nickel for sale one eBay. Would nickel be good to save along with silver?"

I just reread your post and caught this (not sure how I missed it). No do not buy a bar of nickel unless you have a use for it or really think commodity prices will soar. If you must have nickel, stick with the 5 cent coins because you can spend them anywhere that takes money or deposit them into a bank. Not so sure the average 7-11 clerk will recognize your bar of nickel as a valuable asset.

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"Can our form of government, our system of justice, survive if one can be denied a FREEDOM because he might abuse it?" Harlan Carter

GroundPounder

+1 on Taylor's comments. Nickel is not a very 'liquid' asset unless it is in coin form. On the other hand gold and silver can be purchased and sold relatively easy. It can also be used for barter. It is widely recognized and has been used as money for thousands of years.

There are people that advocate saving nickels for the metal content. I am afraid that inflation will more that eat up any gains in the metal price so I am sticking with gold and silver.

There are people that advocate saving nickels for the metal content. I am afraid that inflation will more that eat up any gains in the metal price so I am sticking with gold and silver.

I tend to agree GP but just to cover my bases I put away $20 in nickels in my "treasure chest". Figured what the hell, I can always deposit the money back in the bank. I have been saving copper pennies (pre 1982) in the event (however unlikely) that only full bodied coins were being taken as money. It is not much of a gamble though, just take them out of my change and stash them, I would never pay more than a penny a piece for one. I figure if nothing comes of it, I can always deposit them in the bank as well. I have almost $200 in copper pennies alone, gives that "treasure chest" some good weight!

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"Can our form of government, our system of justice, survive if one can be denied a FREEDOM because he might abuse it?" Harlan Carter

GroundPounder

Nothing wrong with putting a little back. I have heard stories of people putting thousands of dollars worth of pennies and nickels back (probably need a warehouse!) That would be a foolish investment in my opinion.

To me, nothing beats the compact wealth in gold to me though. I can hold a tube of 20 one once gold eagles in my pocket. It would take 85,985 pennies or 17,199 nickels to hold the same amount of wealth at today's gold spot price. You would need much bigger pockets!

"To me, nothing beats the compact wealth in gold to me though. I can hold a tube of 20 one once gold eagles in my pocket. It would take 85,985 pennies or 17,199 nickels to hold the same amount of wealth at today's gold spot price. You would need much bigger pockets"

Absolutely, if you are mobile, nothing beats gold. I plan on staying in place for most situations so I tend to say "Why not?" and err on the side of caution. If I had to leave my home, I wouldn't stuff my pockets with anything but the gold coins. I have always felt that the copper pennies and nickels were not much of a problem one way or the other. It isn't like I pay more than a penny for a penny or 5 cents for a nickel. The only thing I am out is whatever little interest they would have accumulated sitting in a bank account. If nothing ever happens, peace breaks out worldwide and everyone starts holding hands and singing "We are the World", I can always spend them or drop them off at the bank. No harm, no foul.

GP what are your ideas on platinum? I did not bother with it because people are more familiar with gold/silver and it is easy to recognize. I think people know of platinum, many may have never seen it and wouldn't recognize it especially in a barter situation. Yer thoughts?

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"Can our form of government, our system of justice, survive if one can be denied a FREEDOM because he might abuse it?" Harlan Carter

GroundPounder

I am not a platinum fan. I view it more as an industrial metal. Feel the same about Rhodium.

When I look at thousands of years of history I see gold as the only consistent precious metal that has had value and is easily traded all over the world. If someone dropped me off on a mountain in Kandahar I could buy my way home with gold. Would a platinum or rhodium coin earn the same respect? Hard to say, but I doubt it.

I also like silver but more as a barter item than a storage of wealth. It has the same problem as nickel and copper - low weight to value ratio. I have some bags of junk pre-65 silver which is my favorite form of silver. I also have some tubes of silver eagles. The thing I like about junk silver is that it can be picked up for close to spot price (Well that used to be the case, for now it is at a premium), it is easily recognizable, and it has good monetary value. A US quarter has around .2 oz of silver so you get $1.25 face for an ounce, better than a silver eagle.

I have read Rawles posts on saving nickles. Personally I would prefer to put that money towards gold and silver. Precious metals are very liquid and can easily be sold at the metals spot price. Because of the current laws on the books, a nickel can not legally be melted down so there is not going to be many people willing to pay the premium for the nickel content of the coins.

Save the nickels and use the money to buy pre-65 junk silver.

I have corresponded with Jim Rawles on this. When he first suggested saving nickels, the base metal components - 75% copper and 25% nickel - were worth 6.5 cents. Currently they are worth maybe 2.6 cents due to the fall in base metal commodity prices. That said, he still thinks it is an inexpensive way to play Gresham's Law in the long run. It is also a cheap way to do it and I occasionally do buy a few rolls of nickels from my bank.

I also have bought shares in an ETF that shorts basic metals (BOS) as I see industrial demand (and prices) for base metals will continue downward until such time as we begin to move out of this global recession.

what! here I was sorting through all my coins looking for the pre-64 dates, thinking the nickels were also worth something... sigh... I guess my "silver" collection is only 1 dime large, not 1 dime and some 10 nickels.I do not think my dh will be down with me buying metals, so I am just searching the rolls I buy for the kids' allowances. I think I might need to up their "pay" from nickels to dimes! LOL!

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"Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program" - Spencer W. Kimball"Life isn't about trying to survive the storm; but about learning to dance in the rain" - unknownLuck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity

Michael Masse

Part of the thinking is that in a bartering system you might want to get something that is not very expensive so you need coinage of some kind that is in a small denomination. Gold is great but do you want to by apples or toilet paper or spark plug worth $1, $5, $10 bucks with a gold coin worth $100 or much more? So the idea would be to have gold, silver and nickels to cover your bases.

I started saving nickles after reading the info on the first post. I also ask for a roll of nickles in my change when I go grocery shopping. Yesterday I had to almost threaten to get the manager of Wally World to get the checker to give me 1 roll of nickles in my change. You would have thought I had asked for her arm!

I save nickles, I don't go out and buy them but I do go through the change and pick them out. Have an ammo can full and it does not take up a lot of room.Will it pan out and they will be worth a lot more one day? Maybe , maybe not. Small risk either way, and besides I will let the grandkids deal with them after I am gone. I wish I had done the same with dimes and quarters pre 1964.

Yeah, my grandkids are also going to wonder why that crazy old coot saved all of these pennies and nickels. Or, maybe they will be very grateful.

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"I went down Virginia, seekin' shelter from the storm.Caught up in the fable, I watched the tower grow.Five year plans and new deals, wrapped in golden chains.And I wonder, still I wonder who'll stop the rain."

Well gents, this thread was started in 2008 when the PM prices crashed. Now the PM market is back to 10-20 year highs. I save my pennies and nickels for two reasons. 1. if nickel and copper skyrocket and I can sell a $2 roll of nickels for $5 or if it becaome legal to melt pennies for thier metal value, hey Im ahead of the game. 2. If not and I need some extra cash I have x number of dollars to take to the coin machine/bank/store.

...Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report biennially to specified congressional committees on production costs for each circulating coin, cost trends, and possible new metallic materials or technologies for the production of circulating coins. Requires detailed recommendations in such reports for: (1) changes to the metallic content of circulating coins; (2) changes in coin production methodology that would further reduce the costs of production; ...

Once the gov. changes the composition... they will need to be sorted. Better off getting them now. Worst case... it's like holding cash.

...Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to report biennially to specified congressional committees on production costs for each circulating coin, cost trends, and possible new metallic materials or technologies for the production of circulating coins. Requires detailed recommendations in such reports for: (1) changes to the metallic content of circulating coins; (2) changes in coin production methodology that would further reduce the costs of production; ....

Mostly, I am surprised they haven't changed the composition of Nickels already. Currently, the base metal in one Nickel (75% copper & 25% nickel) is worth about 7.3 cents.

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"I went down Virginia, seekin' shelter from the storm.Caught up in the fable, I watched the tower grow.Five year plans and new deals, wrapped in golden chains.And I wonder, still I wonder who'll stop the rain."

The next generation of British coins initially scheduled to appear in circulation during early 2011 has been postponed, primarily due to the influence of the parking meter and vending machine industries.

The high price of the metals from which Great Britain’s circulating coinage are struck is the problem. Coins currently issued in copper-nickel composition are planned to be replaced beginning April 1 with coins of nickel-plated steel. The new 5- and 10-pence coins presumably dated 2011 are not only composed of a different metal mix, but are 0.2 millimeters in diameter thicker than are the existing 1.7mm thick coins they will replace.

United States Mint Seeks Public Comment on Factors to Be Considered in Research and Evaluation of Potential New Metallic Coinage Materials

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United States Mint today announced that it is requesting public comment from all interested persons on factors to be considered in conducting research for alternative metallic coinage materials for the production of all circulating coins.

These factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of new metallic coinage materials on the current suppliers of coinage materials; the acceptability of new metallic coinage materials, including physical, chemical, metallurgical and technical characteristics; metallic material, fabrication, minting, and distribution costs; metallic material availability and sources of raw metals; coinability; durability; sorting, handling, packaging and vending machines; appearance; risks to the environment and public safety; resistance to counterfeiting; commercial and public acceptance; and any other factors considered to be appropriate and in the public interest.

.......Comments must be submitted on or before April 4, 2011. Interested parties may submit written comments by any of the following methods:.....

They are basically asking vendors and other businesses that use coins if there will be a problem with them changing the content of coins. They are doing this because they are legally obliged to. After April 4th... it won't be much longer before they submit a proposal to the President and before they change the composition and start the new coins.

I'm predicting that as early as September 2011, nickels will have their composition changed. Nickels will made out of 97.5% zinc and plated with nickel.

Mostly, I am surprised they haven't changed the composition of Nickels already. Currently, the base metal in one Nickel (75% copper & 25% nickel) is worth about 7.3 cents.

Today, 12/9/12, (the end of the world is almost here ) and instrinsic value of the nickel has fallen a bit since the OP. Coinflation shows value to be .0513618. However, the treasury has announced that the nickel composition will change next year. I can't help but wonder of folks will stash these away like they did pre-65 silver.

From survivalblog today,"The U.S. Mint's report to the U.S. Congress with firm recommendations for new coin compositions is due to be released today, December 14, 2012. Once Congress acts to debase the nickel (most likely switching to almost worthless stainless steel coin planchets), the window of opportunity will close. This may be our last chance to stock up on real nickels in quantity without any sorting. If you haven't yet assembled your stack of nickel boxes, then do so NOW!"

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The early bird gets the worm.....But the second mouse gets the cheese.